kitio.aiDatabricks vs Dremio
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Databricks starts at See pricing page and Dremio starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Genie natural-language analytics
- Databricks Assistant
- Notebooks and SQL warehouse
- Unity Catalog
- Agent Bricks
- AI agent for data questions
- AI semantic layer
- Intelligent query engine
- Open catalog on Apache Polaris
- Apache Iceberg support
- Cloud, self-managed and free editions
| Feature | Databricks | Dremio |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Data and AI platform with Genie for natural-language analytics | Open data lakehouse with an AI agent and semantic layer for analytics |
| Category | Data & analytics | Data & analytics |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | See pricing page | See pricing page |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Databricks | Dremio |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Databricks starts at See pricing page and Dremio starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Community Edition
Free
- Free, limited platform
- For learning Spark
Pay as you go
Per DBU, varies by product
- Usage-based billing
- Free trial available
Committed Use
Contact sales
- Discounts for committed spend
- Invoice or annual billing
3 plans
Community Edition
Free
- Free query engine
- Runs on your own machine
Dremio Cloud
$0.20 / DCU
- Fully managed
- Automatic scaling
- 30-day trial with $400 credit
Dremio Enterprise
Contact sales
- Self-managed deployment
- Kubernetes or on-premises
- Own security policies
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Databricks
- One platform for data and AI
- Strong governance
- Scales to huge workloads
- Usage costs can surprise teams
- Complex for small companies
Dremio
- Built on open formats, so less lock-in
- Free Community Edition
- $400 trial credit for the cloud version
- Usage pricing makes costs hard to forecast
- Enterprise pricing only through sales
- Ownership change to SAP may shift the roadmap
Which one should you choose?
Choose Databricks if you want:
- One platform for data and AI
- Strong governance
- Scales to huge workloads
Watch out: usage costs can surprise teams.
Choose Dremio if you want:
- Built on open formats, so less lock-in
- Free Community Edition
- $400 trial credit for the cloud version
Watch out: usage pricing makes costs hard to forecast.
Databricks vs Dremio FAQ
What is the difference between Databricks and Dremio?
Databricks: Data and AI platform with Genie for natural-language analytics. Dremio: Open data lakehouse with an AI agent and semantic layer for analytics. Both are data & analytics tools.
Is Databricks or Dremio cheaper?
Databricks starts at See pricing page and Dremio starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do Databricks and Dremio have free plans?
Databricks: Yes. Dremio: Yes.
Who makes Databricks?
Databricks is made by Databricks, based in United States.
Who makes Dremio?
Dremio is made by Dremio, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Databricks or Dremio?
Choose Databricks if you value one platform for data and ai and strong governance. Choose Dremio if you value built on open formats, so less lock-in and free community edition.